The Hunter's Secret
by XxNimith531xX
Summary: Emily's tackled the apocalypse head-on and doesn't want to trust Shane and this new group. She has to worry about Annie and Reggie, about keeping herself alive and the ones she loves safe, about keeping that damnable Dixon at arm's length. She has secrets. Little does she know that he does, too. Can they learn to trust each other despite the world having ended? Daryl/OC.
1. Chapter 1

**Authoress Note: Hi Fanfic people! So, to add to my growing list of stories I start and end up taking month-long breaks from, here's "The Walking Dead" for you! Like I say in all of my other posts: This is purely for FUN and in no way, shape or form do I keep to any updating schedule, therefore posts will be infrequent and sporadic. You've been warned. As much as I love writing, school and work take precedent (sadly) so I can't update as often as I'd like. So, bear with me. Thank you! Obligatory Disclaimer: I own nothing except for Emily, Reggie and Annie.**

**That is all. Enjoy!**

Hunter's Secret

Chapter One

"Shit, shit, shit!"  
I ran as fast as I could across my grandfather's yard with my dog Reggie quick at my heels. Over my shoulder was strapped my granddad's repeater rifle and in one hand was my nephew's little league metal bat. Those dead things were everywhere, fastly swarming the premises.  
My grandmam's old Honda hatchback sat in the gravel driveway, right where she left it a few days ago, back when she was still..._alive_. I shook the thought from me, finding no time to grieve properly - not with my own death imminent.  
"Come on, Reggie!" I called to the German Shepherd, throwing the driver's side door open, letting him hop in to the passenger seat. I slid in after him, slamming the door before one of them dead assholes could grab me. Aggressively, I manhandled the ignition and put the car in rear drive. I drove backwards out of the driveway, clipping a few dead guys in the process. The car fishtailed onto the road and I headed towards the next safest place I knew of: Atlanta.

*********************

"God damn, son of a piece a crap!" I kicked the front bender of the little blue car, venting my ire. We were trapped on the road, still a long ways away from our destination, which made me all the more mad. Reggie whined at me, making me glance at the dog ruefully.

"I don't have any food, alright! We'll scavenge for something up the road at the quickie mart," I said. I dunno why I continued talking to my dog as if he would speak back. Maybe it was just from being alone for so long. Maybe it was just because I needed to hear a voice, even if it was my own.

I paced around the car, running my hands up and down my face. Reggie followed me with his eyes, his head nodding back and forth with my stride. I pulled my dark brown hair up into a ponytail to alleviate some of the heat building up. Sweat beaded down the back of my neck and my skinnys were feeling hotter with each passing minute in the direct sunlight. My feet burned inside my brown leather boots and I tried my hardest not to panic.

So I was stranded in the middle of the road, no food, no gas and hardly any ammo left to defend myself and Reggie. I looked to the black long-haired beast.

"So, what do we do? Abandon the car? Try our chances at the nearest gas station, siphon some from any cars we happen upon?" I asked, continuing to pace as I watched Reggie. As if making up his mind, Reggie abruptly turned around and started trotting down the street. I groaned and followed him, checking my rifle to see if it was properly loaded and swung it over my shoulder.

The gas station was abandoned, with a big sign out front reading, "OUT OF GAS". I sighed and looked at the chaos around me. Abandoned cars littered the road and people's possessions were thrown about, by looters was my guess. No sign of anyone living. Or dead. I loosened my grip on my bat.

Suddenly, I heard a _'thunk'_. Reggie and I tensed and I raised my bat. My senses were on high alert and my ears were straining to hear the sound again. Reggie sniffed the air and his hackles lowered. He wagged his tail and ran off.

"Shit, no Reggie!" I quickly raced after him, weaving between cars and hopping over stray luggage in the road.

Reggie made a beeline for a red minivan parked across the street. He sniffed at the door and barked, wagging his tail wildly.

"Reggie, no! Back up, back up!" I grabbed at his collar and hauled him behind me.

I hesitantly grabbed the door handle and slid it open. I was met with a terrified scream and I jumped in surprise.

"Hey, hey! It's okay, I won't hurt you." I raised my hand up in shock, lowering my bat again. Huddled inside of the van was a young girl no older than six years old. Her wild red hair had been tied back in a messy braid, undoubtedly done by someone else a long time ago. Her big blue eyes looked up at me in horror and she began crying.

"It's okay, hey, don't cry." I put my bat down completely and knelt, trying to show her I meant no harm. "You alright? You hurt?" I asked, glancing her over slightly. She shook her head quickly.

"What's your name?" I asked in a soothing voice.

She sniffed loudly and wiped her nose with her sleeve and said, "Annie."

"Hi, Annie. My name's Emily. Where are your parents?" I asked her, taking her by the hand and leading her out of the van.

Annie shrugged her small shoulders and pointed down the road. "Left. Went that way. They said they'd come right back."

I felt my heart sink. One glance around the road would tell anyone that no one had come or gone in a long while. I smiled weakly. "When was that?" I asked, afraid of the answer.

"Few days ago, maybe a week. Been finding food in the cars and gas store." I hung my head and glanced down, seeing Reggie panting happily.

"Hey, Annie, this is Reggie. Wanna pet him?" I offered kindly.

Annie raised her hand slowly and tentatively stroked his ear. Reggie made a pleased groaning sound and leaned into her hand. She smiled and grew bolder, using both hands to rub his fur.

"Listen, Annie, I don't think you're parents..." I paused, unsure how to say it. I cleared my throat and shifted from a kneeling position to a crouching one. "I don't think they're coming back anytime soon, sweetheart. Why don't you come with me, we'll find you some real food or something. Does that sound okay to you?"

The little girl nodded agreeably and took my waiting hand. I smiled down at her and said, "Right. First thing's first. Find some food, then some spare gas. Sound good?"

"Yup!" she cheered beside me.

From that day forward, it was me, Annie and Reggie living day by day in the post-apocalypse.

**Authoress Note: Yes, it's a tad short. Chapter Two should be longer. I'll put up the first two or three chapters and based on responses, I'll put up the next one after. Comments and constructive criticism are always welcomed. But be kind, please. Thank you!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Authoress Note: Here's the second chapter, hot and ready! Woo. Disclaimer: I own nothing, except Annie, Reggie and Emily.**

Chapter Two

It'd been maybe two weeks since I found Annie. In that time, we laid low in some small suburbs, taking what we could where we could. When the time came to move on, I decided the safest route for us to take was back towards Atlanta. Last I heard from the emergency broadcast before the grid went black was to head there for a refugee center. It sounded like our best bet. My hatchback had been refueled and we made our way down the abandoned highway. Annie sat up front with me while Reggie sat calmly in the back.  
"How much farther, Emmy?" asked the little girl with exasperation apparent in her voice.  
"We should be nearing the city any minute. Have patience, kid." I kept my eyes on the road but smirked anyway.  
The hatchback sputtered and lurched before the entire engine began to smoke. I cursed and pulled over to the side of the road.  
"Friggin' Georgia! Why did the end of the world happen in hot, humid Georgia?" I groaned, getting out of the car to inspect the damage. Annie and Reggie followed me. I popped open the hood and waved a hand to clear the smoke.

"Are we stuck?" Annie asked, looking up at me with her big doe eyes.

I sighed and put my hands on my hips. "Looks like." I glanced at her as her blue eyes began to water. I nervously put my hands up. "But we'll be okay, no need to cry!" One thing I learned about Annie is that once she starts crying, she doesn't stop. Not for nothing.

"I don't want to be stuck!" she blubbered.

I knelt down beside her and took her in my arms. "Hey, come on now, we'll be okay. We're still together, aren't we?"  
"Until you leave! Like Mom and Dad!" she cried.

I knelt there, stunned. I rubbed her arms and shook my head. "No, no sweetie. I promise I won't leave you."

She opened her eyes and squinted up at me with a beet-red face. "Pinky swear?" she raised her tiny hand and lifted her pinky in my face.

I smiled and nodded, doing the same. "Pinky swear."

Annie giggled as I stood up. I faced the front of the car again, this time wondering how I'd pull off a miracle to get this thing going. I braced my hands on each side of the hood, dipping my head to assess the situation, leaving Annie to her own devices.

The little girl and Reggie wandered off a few paces, looking around curiously. The sound of shuffling feet and a low growl made her turn around and scream. She collided with the back of my legs, causing me to hit my head on the car hood.

"Ow! Annie what's wr-" I lost my voice as I saw what had scared her and Reggie. The dog took his place between us and the undead creature and snarled menacingly. I immediately shoved Annie behind me and took hold of the baseball bat.

"Reggie, stay." My voice was even and calm, despite my mounting fear. The dog did as he was told. I took a few bracing breaths before lunging at the clawing monster. The bat collided with his head and I heard his skull crunch. He fell to the ground, motionless. I had little time to celebrate, because the racket attracted more of them.

Before I knew what was happening, I was surrounded. Knowing I couldn't fight them all off by myself, even if there were only 5 of them, I hauled Annie up by her arm and held her to my chest so she was straddling my hip.

"Reggie, come!" I yelled, hell-bent on fleeing. Reggie, however, wanted to fight. He stood his ground and barked fearlessly.

Annie screamed, hiding her face in the crook of my neck. I glanced around, not willing to leave my dog. _Shit, shit, shit, shit..._ the mantra filled my mind as I hurried over to a nearby pickup truck.

"Stay here and hide. Do _not_ come out, no matter what. Take this. Do you understand?" I whispered harshly, handing her the metal bat. She quickly nodded and took it. I pulled my rifle from over my shoulder and came to Reggie's rescue.

"Reginald, _get back!_" I commanded sternly, quickly grabbing him by his collar before he could take a juicy bite out of the leg of one of them. Who knew what might happen if he made contact with their diseased flesh.

I raised my rifle and took aim. A deafening _crack_ echoed as I pulled the trigger. I heard Annie scream at the noise. One fell down in a heap. The loud sound seemed to excite them and the next four rushed towards me with renewed vigor.

"Shit!" I stumbled backwards, cocking the gun. I lifted it again and shot another between the eyes. Three left.

My feet moved of their own accord, frequently nudging Reggie further back. The dog's ears were flattened and his teeth were bared angrily. I couldn't risk him getting infected, too.

"Annie, call Reggie!" I shouted, cocking the rifle again.

"Reggie! Reggie!" I heard the girl obediently cry. Reggie's ears perked and his head swivelled around towards Annie's hiding spot. He stood a moment, unsure what to do. As I took aim for the next one, Reggie made up his mind and sprinted towards Annie. I breathed a sigh of relief and shot, but not after one of them surprised me at my side. They were flanking now? I tripped and fell into the open door of a compact car. I hastily slammed the door shut as the two left began beating at the window furiously.

I had precious little time to reload my weapon. I did with shaky hands, glancing up with terrified eyes to see how far they've broken the glass. It cracked flimsily. Abruptly, I turned around and reached for the passenger side door, which was dented from an accident caused by this mayhem. The car that had dented the door was still there, like the driver just got out and ran away after T-boning the side. It was jammed shut.

"Fuck, fuck, _fuck_," I whispered, grabbing my gun by its nose and smashing open the passenger window with the butt. I crawled out, narrowly avoiding being grabbed by a dead hand that crashed through the other window. Shattered glass scraped my upper thigh as I slid out, making me yell out in pain as it dug deep into my skin and ripped. I fell to the ground, holding my bleeding leg with both hands. My rifle fell beside me.

Feral growling reawakened my survival instincts, and despite the pain I grabbed the rifle and took aim. My arms shook and I felt faint from bloodloss. I swore and pulled the trigger, hitting one square in the cheek. It fell. One left.

It attacked and tackled me to the ground. I shrieked and dropped the gun. I instinctively raised my hands up to grab its neck so it wouldn't bite me. It's arms flailed a moment as I shoved him away from my body, trying to scratch me.

"Emily!" Annie ran up behind the corpse and hit it in the back of the head with the bat. Her aim was poor and her arms too weak to do any real damage. Instead, it just redirected its attention to her instead of me. It stumbled off of me and after her.

"Annie, no!" I tried to stand, only to find that my injured leg would not support my weight. I collapsed back down with a cry. Thinking fast, I looked for my rifle. I picked it up and took aim. Before I could pull the trigger, an arrow whizzed from out of our line of sight and straight into its head. The corpse fell, dead. Annie screamed and ran over to me, Reggie following. I looked up and saw three men walking out from the tree line across the road. The hair on the back of my neck prickled. My thoughts raced worriedly. I've met my share of looters and all around _bad _people since the world went down the crapper and I sure as hell would not let Annie experience anything like that. I struggled to stand, and with Annie's help, I held up my gun threateningly.

One dark haired man raised his hands in surrender. "Whoa, whoa now. Take it easy, we're not gonna hurt ya. I'm Sheriff's Deputy Shane Walsh. This here's Daryl and Dale." My eyes shifted between them, lingering on the one with the crossbow maybe a bit longer than necessary, before lowering my weapon.

"We heard gunshots," said the older one, Dale. "Are you hurt? You're bleeding."

"Wasn't bit," I shot back, in case they got any ideas to shoot me in the head next. "Got trapped in that Saturn and crawled my way out the window. Glass caught my leg is all."

The one with the crossbow, Daryl, looked around as he stood a bit off from the other two. He made a mental count of the walkers. "You took down five geeks by yourself?" he asked, looking at the carnage.

I shrugged and nodded. "Didn't wanna die." I paused. "What did you call them? Geeks?"

"Got a better name?" he retorted, his steely blue eyes on me. I quickly looked away as Annie peeked out from behind my legs and tightly gripped my shirt with an iron grasp.

"Oh, who's this now?" asked Dale kindly, bending down with a friendly smile.

Still wary of them, I put a hand on Annie's shoulder and pushed her back behind me. Reggie watched beside her.

"Oh come on now, we won't bite. Daryl did just save you, after all." Dale glanced at the redneck with the crossbow. He stood there mutely.

"A-Annie," she said in half a whisper.

"And you?" Shane asked me.

I sighed, feeling lightheaded and leaned back on the car I'd recently crawled out of. "Emily. This is Reggie. Thanks for saving us. I guess."

"Hey, us living folk gotta look out for one another, right?" said Shane. "Now, look. We got a camp up by the quarry couple miles away. Why don't you come with us? You need your leg bandaged up."

I immediately refused. "No. We can take care of ourselves, thanks."

"But Emily..." Annie tugged at my shirt, giving me that big-eyed look that I secretly began to detest, "We haven't seen anyone else living before."

"We have food, water, shelter, women and other kids for you to play with, Annie." Dale smiled.

I debated for a moment before Annie's pleading gaze sent my resolve packing. "Oh, fine. If it means that much to you. Grab the pack from the car, first."

"Yes!" cheered Annie, "Come on, Reggie!" She took the dog by his collar and led him towards the broken down car.

"Here, I gotcha." Shane offered me a helping arm. Reluctantly, I took it and hobbled back to their camp.

**Authoress Note: That's Chapter Two! Please be kind if you want to leave feedback or comments. As always, constructive criticism is always welcomed.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Authoress Note: Onwards to Chapter Three. This will be my last post for a while, to sort of test the waters, so to speak. Obligatory disclaimer: I own nothing, blah blah. Emily, Reggie and Annie are mine.**

Chapter Three

"Right everyone, we got ourselves some newcomers!" Shane called, releasing me. I stumbled a moment before someone else's hand set me straight. I turned around and saw Daryl.

"Thanks," I muttered. He said nothing and walked away to his tent.

"Everyone!" Shane called, rallying the group together. "This here's Emily and Annie. Ladies," Shane nodded his head to Annie and me, "This is everyone. We can do individual introductions later, but for now let's have your leg looked at."

"Here, I can do that." A skinny brunette woman walked over to us as the camp went back to its business. "I'm Lori."

"Emily."

"I'm Annie!" Annie chirped.

"Well, hello!" Lori laughed. "Why don't you go and play with my son, Carl, and some of the other children, Annie. If that's okay with your mom?"

I held up a hand. "Oh, I'm not her..." Annie looked up at me with such a smile, it made my heart tremble. Instead, I lowered my hand and said softly, "Go on and play. I'll be fine."

"Sweet!" she ran off towards the group of kids, her wild red hair bouncing as she went.

Lori led me into Dale's RV. "So, you're not her mother?" she asked delicately as she helped remove my jeans. They were definitely ruined now from the rip and bloodstain.

I winced and shook my head. "Uh, no."

"Oh. Relative, then? Sister?" she persisted, perhaps not quite realizing how pushy she sounded. I frowned to myself.

"No, I didn't know her till a few weeks ago," I said.

That seemed enough for Lori to pause and rethink her interrogation. "Oh," was all she said after that.

I sniffed when she brought out the rubbing alcohol and bandages. The cut didn't seem all that nasty, but at the time when it was flushing out my life's blood like a hose, it seemed much worse. She cleaned up the wound and stitched it before wrapping it up with gauze.

"I think we can find some spare clothes for you. You look to be about Amy's size..." Lori began.

"No, it's alright. I have some clothes in my bag." I cut her off. She agreed and opened up my backpack for me.

"So, where are you from?" she asked, helping me up to put on a new pair of dark jeggings. I cringed as I sat back down to lace up my boots.

"Chicago," I said, breathless from the stinging pain in my leg.

Before Lori could question me further, Annie burst into the RV.

"Emmy, they're cooking food over a fire! There's real meat!" she gushed excitedly.

I laughed. "Wow, no joke huh? I'll be right out."

"Kay!" Annie left, leaving the RV door swinging open.

"Annie!" I shouted after her, "Close the door, at least!" But it was too late, she was long gone. I sighed and shook my head. "The manners on that girl..."

Lori laughed and helped me down the RV steps. "After dinner, we'll see if Dale has an extra tent for you."

"Cool," was I could think to say. Lori sat me down in a chair and Annie claimed the one beside me.

"Well," Lori began, "You've met me, Shane, Dale and Daryl. This is my son, Carl and that's Amy. Over there's Ed, Carol and Sophia. And there's the Morales family. A lot of our group went to the city to scavenge for supplies. You'll meet 'em later."  
"Thanks for helping us out," I said in response. My gratefulness was muted, however, by the loud inquiry of Annie.  
"Is this a squirrel?" she asked, holding the skewered rodent up to her face.  
"Damn straight," said the redneck. "Best squirrel this side of the States."  
Dale came to our rescue with an explanation. "Daryl hunts and prepares the food," he said.  
"It looks funny..." Annie said, staring at it in wonder. "It still has its teeth!"  
I rolled my eyes. "Annie, don't be rude. Say thank you."  
"Oh," Annie immediately looked up from her squirrel-on-a-stick and beamed over at Daryl. "Thank you for the squirrel!" Many of the group chuckled. Daryl grunted in response and went back to eating in silence.  
"So, Emily, what can you tell us about yourself?" Shane asked, looking over at me from the other side of the campfire.  
I shrugged. "Um, I dunno. What do you want to know?"  
"Oh, anything will do. It's sort of custom that when we meet new people, they tell us something about themselves or about what they did before...this," Dale said, waving his hand to emphasize what 'this' meant.  
Scratching my head, I thought. "Well, before this all happened I went to school in Chicago and just started my teaching internship."  
"What did you teach?" Lori asked with interest.  
"High school level history. I never got past my first semester, because I heard my granddaddy was sick. So, I came down here to take care of him and my grandmam. A week later, shit hits the fan and there's dead people wandering around the streets. Last we heard, Atlanta was the safest place."  
Shane snorted. "Atlanta's far from safe. The refugee center was overrun. Nothing left there now."  
My heart sank. "Oh. Well, shit."  
"You shouldn't swear so much," Annie yawned, curling up in her chair. Silence enveloped the group as my disheartening realization took root. Daryl was the one to break it.  
"School teachers carry heavy like a Winchester repeater nowadays?" he asked.  
I looked up. "What? Oh, no. It's my grandad's. He taught me how to shoot when I was younger and every summer since. But..." I cleared my throat to keep myself from choking on emotion, "But he won't be needing it anymore."  
"I'm sorry," Dale said for the group. Night was quickly descending. "Why don't you stay with me and Amy in the Winnebago tonight and tomorrow we'll get you and Annie a tent?" he offered.  
"Thank you," I repeated.  
"So, tell us about her," Shane said, nodding to the sleeping form of Annie in the chair.  
I looked down at the fire and folded my hands between my knees. Shaking my head I shrugged. "I don't know much about her. Found her not a week or two ago."  
"You _found_ her?" Dale asked in shock. "We thought you were family. You two seem so, well, so close."  
"We are, I guess. My car stalled when I was on my way to the city. Anyway, Reggie and me," I gestured to the four-legged beast lying beneath my chair, "We went to try and siphon some gas down the road, then lo and behold we find Annie hiding out in her parents minivan."  
"She was all alone?" asked a concerned Amy.  
I nodded slowly. "Her parents just...left her. She won't talk about it but from what she did say, it seems pretty clear they weren't going to come back."  
"Poor thing," Lori said softly.  
"And you just took her in? No strings attached?" Shane asked suspiciously.  
I glared at him. "Obviously. Wouldn't you? I couldn't just leave her."  
"That's very noble," Dale said, almost proudly.  
I shook my head and looked into the fire. "I dunno about that. Just...didn't seem right to walk away."  
"Well, I think that's enough talk for tonight," Shane said, standing up with his plate of squirrel.  
"I agree. Come on Amy. You too, Emily. Grab Annie and I'll show you where you can bunker down for tonight," Dale said, gesturing that I follow.  
Carefully, I dug my arms under Annie's sleeping body and hoisted her up. She mumbled something in her sleep but didn't wake up. Dale led us into the Winnebago, handing me a couple of sheets and pillows.  
"Sorry I don't have another bed or comfortable chair for you two, but it's just one night. Tomorrow I'll set up that extra tent for you," Dale said whilst fluffing a pillow.  
"That's okay, I can do it myself. My granddad taught me how to set up a tent and it'd be good practice for Annie, at the very least. Thank you though, for letting us stay here. Your group is...nicer than most," I found myself saying as I tucked Annie in.  
"Oh? In comparison to what? Have you met other groups out there?" he asked curiously as Amy went to bed.  
"I have," I confessed, sitting down beside Annie with a sigh. "Raiders, I call 'em. Looters who don't ask nicely for another helping of squirrel, if you get my drift. I was unlucky enough to encounter a group right after I left my grandparent's farm. I was fortunate in that I got out before things got out of hand though, but you could just _see_ that these people didn't think like normal people. They act first, think later and damn the consequences. Was too much for me, so I left."  
"And they let you go just like that? From what you're saying, these don't sound like the sort of people to just allow someone to up and leave." Dale sat down at the RV's kitchen table, beside where Annie and I were going to sleep.  
"They weren't. I ran away. Clobbered some poor idiot out on patrol and booked it in my grandmother's car. Few days go by, I meet Annie and voila, we're just outside of Atlanta at a quarry with you fine folk," I laughed quietly, allowing myself a small smile.  
"Well," Dale said with a small shrug, "At least you found Annie and they didn't. I weep for future generations, knowing nothing of the old life. Lemme tell you something, Emily. If those people would've gotten Annie, they would have molded her to be like them. It'd be second nature to steal, to kill, even. Be glad she's with the likes of you."  
As Dale went back to the only bedroom in the RV, I pondered over his words. It never occurred to me that kids like Annie would barely remember their old lives. What of my children? What of..._me_? Would I never marry now? Would my life be in constant movement, herding from one place to another in search of safety with not a moment's peace to settle down anywhere? Would I ever find anyone in this God forsaken wasteland who would want a family? Did _I_ still want a family? Ask me that a year ago, the answer would be yes, undoubtedly. But now... Now I was being selfish. I purged the thoughts from my mind as I settled down beside Annie. I would focus on her first and myself second. That was a promise.

**Authoress Note: Like I said before, this will be my last "test phase" chapter before I decide if I'll put the rest up. Note - nothing is complete, so updates will be scarce and far between as I said in the first chapter's note. As always, be kind with reviews and I'll be kind in return! :)**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

The next morning, I set up the tent with Annie's help. She was actually a pretty quick learner, despite the world having ended. She was fast, too. She'd have each corner anchored before I had the time to instruct her next movement.  
"Well, I guess that's that, then." I smiled at her, relishing in the joy on her face.  
"We did it!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.  
Our tent was situated a little further away from Shane's encampment with Lori and Carl, but closer to the Dixon's spot. I hoped I wasn't on their turf or anything. Lord knows how men are with their tents.  
"Hey, Annie!" Carl called, "Wanna come play with us?"  
She turned to look at me, her eyes full of desire. "Can I go?"  
I grinned and ruffled her ginger hair. "Duh-doy. Go on and have fun, I'll be nearby." I watched her run off, feeling a little better about our situation.  
"You really just take that girl in, like a lost dog?" a heavy drawl asked from behind me.  
I whirled around and came face to face with Daryl Dixon. I blinked in surprise before registering what he had said. Feeling slightly insulted but not letting it show, I folded my arms defensively. "Yeah, guess I did."  
"Outta what? Pity?" he pressed, mimicking my stance by folding his toned arms over his flanneled chest.  
My brow knit and I looked away from him. "No. Not, pity. I mean, I guess I felt bad for her, sure. But if that was just the case, I would've dropped her off with more capable people. Like Lori or Dale. I'm the one taking full responsibility for her."  
"She ain't your kin, though." He kept his distance, but continued the conversation. I briefly wondered if he made a habit of chatting everyone up in a verbal frenzy. My money was on a big fat NO.  
"That doesn't seem to matter as much anymore. Got no one else, 'cept Reggie. Maybe I was just selfish and wanted to bring her along just so I wouldn't be lonely. Either way, it all comes down to whether or not you could leave a lost child after encountering them. I couldn't. Guess you never know till you're in that situation."  
"Reckon so."  
And with that, the interlude was over. I watched him go silently, wondering why on earth he decided to strike up a conversation like that with me. Maybe he was questioning my motives and just wanted to make sure I wasn't planning anything insidious for him and his group. I shrugged, settling with that as my answer.  
"Hey, Emily!" Lori waved me over from across camp, where she was standing with Carol and Amy. "We're on laundry duty. Wanna help?"  
Finally feeling useful, I nodded eagerly and joined them, trying to ignore the sting of my leg as I limped over. "Yeah, what can I do?"  
Amy and Lori shared a look. One I didn't like. "Well, we can put you on Dixon Duty."  
"Dixon what now?" I asked with my hands on my hips.  
"Well, no one really talks with the Dixons much. Daryl mostly keeps to himself and his pig brother is an ass," Amy said unashamedly.  
"And you and Daryl seem to talk some," Carol led with an embarrassed smile.  
"Whoa, okay. He says maybe four sentences to me, and now suddenly I'm getting dumped with his laundry?" I asked incredulously.  
All three of them smiled at me, some eagerly (Amy and Lori) and others (Carol) bashfully. I groaned and rolled my eyes. "Oh my God, _fine_."  
I stomped my way back towards the Dixon tent, feeling knots tie up in my stomach. Not that I was nervous about talking with Daryl again, I just didn't _want_ to. I waited outside of his tent a moment before calling out.  
"Hey, Daryl, are you in there?" I asked.  
The younger Dixon emerged with a scowl. "What do you want, woman?"  
"Hello to you, too. Look, here's the thing... Rather, there's two things," I babbled.  
"Good _Lord_," he grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Is this gonna take a while, 'cause I was plannin on getting ya'll _food_." He lifted his crossbow, as if to make a point.  
"Just listen!" I snapped, making him raise a bemused brow. "First thing is, I wanted to thank you for saving Annie yesterday."  
"Whatever," he shrugged. "'Nother walker dead is all I care about."  
I made a face and then continued. "_Okay_. Second thing is that I need your dirty clothes."  
His sandy brown eyebrows raised and he scoffed. "Whadda you need them for?"  
"Why do you think, dumbass? I'm doing your laundry." I unfolded my arms and put my hand out expectantly. "Now hand 'em over."  
"Don't need you mother-henning me," he grumbled stubbornly.  
"Oh yeah? When's the last time you wore a clean shirt, hmm? That one's filthy. Just give 'em here and I won't bother you anymore," I promised, waving my hand in his face.  
Daryl remained still a moment and I couldn't tell what was going through his mind. Finally, he unfolded his arms and ducked back into his tent. Another minute passed and I was sure he was just ignoring me. I went to say something, but before I could he emerged with a meager bundle of clothes.  
"Here. Won't punish you by cleaning anything of Merle's. Happy now?" he dumped the clothes into my arms.  
"Very, thank you." I walked away happily, meeting the others on the way down to the lake.  
"He actually gave you some to do? Whenever we ask he just says to, what was it Amy?" Lori asked the younger girl.  
"'_Stop manhandling mah clothes, woman!_'" Amy said, doing her best 'Daryl' impression.  
I doubled over laughing. "He did mention he didn't need me mother-henning him. Whatever that means."  
"I just think it means Daryl's used to relying on Daryl. Or Merle," Carol said softly.  
"I guess. Dunno why now though. I mean, from what I gather, your group seems pretty much eager to help with everything," I thought out loud, "Everyone has a part to play." I dunked one of his shirts into the chilly water.  
"The Dixons," Lori began with a thoughtful sigh, "Well, let's just say the Dixons aren't as...tolerant or as forthcoming as most people. I mean, Daryl's okay - for a loose cannon. But Merle...he's a piece of work."  
"I don't quite understand," I said with a frown, squeezing the water from his shirt.  
"He doesn't hesitate to call Jacqui or T-Dog the "N" word," Amy said outright.  
It took a moment but I finally got it. I looked away with my mouth in an "O" shape. "Ooh. Wow, that's...wow."  
"Yeah," Lori agreed, seeing that I finally understood.  
I began work on another one of Daryl's shirts, letting what I had learned sink in. "But Daryl isn't like Merle?" I asked, almost hopefully.  
"Well, not that we've heard at least," Lori said, slapping a wet shirt out.  
I turned back to my work. "Christ, how many sleeveless shirts does this guy own? What's wrong with a harmless tee?"  
The other women laughed and I grinned, happy that their spirits had been lifted. Talking about Merle Dixon was apparently off-putting. Reggie barked from up the hill, making me jump. With him was a disgruntled looking Daryl.  
"What's going on?" I called, standing up with a hand shielding my eyes from the sun.  
"Tell your dumb dog to stay outta my squirrels." He abruptly turned heel and left Reggie down the hill with me, who still barked happily.  
"Oh, _good_. Look what you do to me, you stupid animal," I grumbled as I went back to washing clothes. "Getting me in trouble with a man who could kill me with a bow and arrow." The other three women snorted and giggled amongst themselves while I fumed silently.  
Once laundry duty was done, we went back up the hill to hang them to dry. A clothesline was already hung beside Daryl's tent so that's where I headed to clothespin up his shirts.  
"Speaking of your dumb dog," he drawled once he saw me with a basket of sopping wet shirts, "Can he hunt?"  
I looked up with a pin in my mouth. "Hmm, I have no clue. I've never taken him out, but you're welcome to if you want. I doubt he'll be much help though."  
"Won't know till ya try. Think I'll take him. What's his stupid name again?" he asked, walking away with his crossbow mounted on his back.  
"Reginald," I replied, grabbing another wet shirt. Daryl stopped and turned back to me with an incredulous stare. I shrugged, "What? Don't you dare judge me. He answers to _Reggie_ most often."  
"Whatever," he replied, shaking his head. "And I thought Merle had a bad name."  
I snorted, hardly paying attention to the words leaving my mouth. "He does."  
"What did you say?" he asked, rounding back to me.  
I jumped, hardly expecting the hostile response directed at me. "Sorry, no offense or anything. I was just agreeing with you." He grunted and walked away, whistling for Reggie to follow. The dog obediently trotted after him. The duo disappeared into the treeline and I was again left to my work.  
I glanced over to the Winnebago, where a small crowd had formed. I pinned up Daryl's last shirt and joined them. Dale was on top of the RV, hitting the radio.  
"What happened?" I asked, a little disappointed that I missed the action. Annie skipped up beside me and took my hand and started swinging it back and forth.  
"Someone was on the radio, we think it was T-Dog," answered Dale.  
"They're trapped in the department store," Lori said softly, so not to get a rise out of the kids.  
"You mean the people sent to get supplies?" I asked, seeing if I understood. A dire nod from Lori told me all I needed.  
"What's wrong, Emmy?" Annie asked, looking up at me.  
I forced a smile. "Nothing, sweetheart. Some people are in trouble, is all."  
"Oh. Shouldn't we help them?" she asked, making everyone pause and glance over at us. I blanched.  
"We can't, Annie. That'd put everyone else at risk. Do you understand?" I attempted to explain.  
"But, if you didn't put yourself at risk, you wouldn't have helped me." Annie watched me with confused eyes. I stared at her a minute, wondering how to word the fact that we couldn't go gallivanting through Atlanta, rescuing people on a whim. Then it hit me, like a cold wave of realization. She really was confused. She wasn't fishing for an answer she wanted to hear. She _depended_ on _me_ to teach her right from wrong. I've never had anyone depend on me like that for anything. The gravity of the fact weighed heavily down on me.  
"Annie..." I began, but my voice broke.  
Luckily, Lori came to my rescue as if sensing my internal struggle. "They'll be alright and find a way to help themselves, Annie."  
That seemed like a good enough answer for the girl, so she shrugged and said, "Okay!" before scampering off with Carl and the other children. I stood with Lori a moment.  
"Scary, isn't it?" she asked knowingly.  
I glanced at her with worried eyes. "When did that happen? I mean, how am I the one who has to teach her right from wrong in a world where morals have been turned on their head?"  
Lori said nothing and simply pat me on the back. It was oddly more comforting than if she actually said something.

The following day was chock full of surprises. First of all, the people who went to the city to get supplies returned with a fancy red car and with Lori's dead husband who wasn't so dead after all. The reunion was touching, and Annie was practically brimming with excitement at the prospect of meeting even more people. I swore the girl was a social butterfly. That night, introductions were made around the campfire after Rick told us his story of his journey.  
"Emily, Annie," Dale said, gaining our attention. He gestured to the people one by one, "This is Jacquie, Theodore Douglas -"  
Theodore interrupted him, "T-Dog."  
Dale continued, "T-Dog, Amy's sister Andrea, Morales, Glenn and we've all met Rick."

Rick smiled over at us. "So, you're the new kids 'round here, too?"

I chuckled as Annie nodded. "Yeah, looks like. Reggie's off with Daryl, but you'll meet him later."

"Oh, is Reggie a relative?" asked Rick. The camp laughed. Rick looked around and a confused smile graced his face. "What?" he asked.

"Reggie's our dog, silly!" Annie laughed.

"Speaking of Daryl," Dale said, bringing everyone's attention to him again, "What are we going to tell him when he gets back from his hunt?"

Rick took the bullet. "It was my decision, I handcuffed Merle there."

T-Dog shook his head in disagreement. "I had the key and I dropped it. It's my fault."

"We could lie," Amy said.

"Or we could tell the truth," Andrea countered.

"I agree," I voiced out loud, "lying about it would probably make Daryl more angry, don't you think?"

A murmur of disgruntled agreement resounded. I sighed and stood up, stretching.

"Come on, Annie. We should get to bed." I said, stretching.

"Okay!" Annie returned her plate and followed after me to our tent.


	5. Chapter 5

**Hi Everyone! It's been a while, I understand, but now I've updated two chapters – so hurray! As always, constructive criticism is always welcome. If you favorite, please be sure to leave reviews, too, so I know how I'm doing! Thanks! **

Chapter Five

The following morning, Annie and I slept pretty late. At some point during the night, she

had crawled out of her cot and snuggled with me in mine. Not that I minded, it was by far the most affection she's shown me since I took her with me. Honestly, it warmed my heart and made me smile. A rapping at the tent door is what woke me up. I groaned and squinted my eyes open. Glenn's head popped in sheepishly.

"Hey," he said in greeting. "Sorry if I woke you guys."

I stretched as Annie slowly came to. I shook my head and sat up, "No, it's fine. We slept later than usual. It's Glenn, right?"

The boy smiled and nodded. "Yeah. Emily and Annie, right?"

I nodded and fixed my rat's nest of hair. "Easy to remember, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he agreed, still standing in the flap.

I rose a curious brow. "Did you need something?"

"Oh!" he jumped, as if realizing he was there for a reason. "Yeah, everyone else was awake and whatever so we wanted to make sure you guys were, too."

"Yep, we'll be out in a few." I stood and fixed my over-sized tee - which was all I wore to bed over my panties. Glenn's eyes widened and his face flushed. He immediately began stuttering and left. I laughed after him.

After dressing in my customary skinnys, boots and a tank with a brown button-up vest, I helped Annie get ready. We walked out of the tent, me with my hairbrush in my hand and two twisties in my mouth.

"Annie, sit down over here," I ordered with the ties muting my voice. She obeyed and sat down on a log by the dormant fire pit. I sat behind her and began working my brush through the scraggly tangles of her wild red hair.

Carl immediately bounded up to us. "Hi, Annie! Can you play?"

Annie made a face as I yanked her hair back and huffed. "In a minute, I think. Ow!"

I laughed. "Sorry, kiddo. Hold still." I glanced up at Carl, who stood patiently. I smiled at him and thought it was cute how he waited for her. "Why don't you go ahead and find Sophia and the others, Carl? Annie will be there with you in a few."

"Okay!" Carl ran off to find the other kids.

"Are you done?" Annie asked with a scowl. I giggled and tied off her hair.

"Yup! Ooh, you look like a tiny Pippi Longstocking!" I gushed as I inspected her pigtail braids. Annie noticeably brightened when Carl returned.

"Can I go now?" she nearly demanded.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, go on. But stay within earshot, okay? No wandering too far."

"Yeah, yeah!" she called, waving me off as she and the kids ran off. I frowned and began fixing my own hair, tying it up in a simple ponytail.

I was joined by Amy's sister, Andrea. She nodded to me and folded her arms, watching the kids run off. "Hi, Andrea, right?" I offered my hand after tying off my hair.  
She took it and shook it. "Yeah. Emily, was it?"  
"Yeah, hi," I said a little pathetically.  
An awkward silence followed and I thought about walking off somewhere, but then Andrea spoke. "So, they said you found that little girl and took her in?"  
I frowned. Was it that hard for people to believe that I couldn't heartlessly abandon a child? I nodded stiffly. "Yeah, guess I did."  
She turned to me with a look in her eye I couldn't precisely read. "And then what? What was your plan?" she asked me, with narrowed eyes.  
I felt attacked. How this girl was related to Amy, I had no idea. Amy was the sweetest, and Andrea...well, she was downright cold. I maintained my cool and shrugged.  
"We were going to Atlanta, to the refugee center. But your group says that place is just a pipe dream," I said. "So, right now, my plan is to keep Annie as safe as I can and if that means teaming up with you people, then that's what I'll do." I shot her a lingering and hardened stare before turning heel and walking away.  
As I stormed off (rather effectively, I might add), I heard a couple of screams and my dog barking. Turning around, I ran towards the sounds with Shane and Rick close behind me.  
"Annie?" I called into the brush. I leapt over the perimeter can line and saw the kids running in the opposite direction.  
Annie collided with my hips and wrapped her arms around me in desperation. I quickly pulled her up and held her close to my body.  
"What is it, what happened?" I asked, trying to sooth her erratic breathing.  
"Over here! Isn't this your dog, Emily?" I heard Shane.  
With Annie on my hip, I stepped over to them, where a walker lay dead (and without its head) beside a chewed up deer. Beside them, Reggie was barking loudly.  
"Reggie!" I called. The dog perked up and trotted over to me. "If you're here, then where's Daryl?" I asked, looking around.  
Suddenly, the brush jostled and out stepped the redneck with the crossbow. He looked up to see weapons in his face. He stopped short. Seeing their comrade, everyone lowered their weapons and Reggie happily ran over to him, nipping at his fingers, hoping for some pets. I made a face at the obvious affection shown by the animal towards Daryl. An irrational sting of jealousy shot through me.  
"Son of a bitch!" Daryl's voice rang out, startling me. He walked over to the deer. "That's my deer!" He shook his head and glanced at the walker. "Look at it. All gnawed on by this... filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard!" With each insult came a kick to the corpse.

"Calm down son, that isn't helping," Dale said.

Daryl rounded on him. "What d'you know about it, old man? Why don't you take your stupid hat and go back to 'On Golden Pond'?"

He looked up at the group. "Been tracking this deer for miles. You think it's good, if we cut around this bitten off part, here?"

"I definitely wouldn't risk it," I said, startling everyone by speaking first. Daryl frowned and stood, re-shouldering his squirrels.

He walked up to me and his blue eyes pierced into my own. "That's a shame," he said softly, almost inaudibly. My breathing hitched at his close proximity and an unfamiliar fluttering sensation rode down from my stomach to my chest.

Suddenly, the head of the walker jerked and moaned. Daryl looked down at it in disgust. He readied his bow. "Come on people, what the hell?" He shot it through and through. "It's gotta be the brain. Don't you people know nothing?"

We locked eyes a few more seconds, before he glanced down at Annie in my arms. He then walked off, brushing past me. I stood there a moment or two, wondering just what in the hell just happened.

"Merle! Yo, Merle! Get your ass out here! Got us some squirrel!" he called a distance away, shaking me out of my stupor. I followed Rick, Shane and Dale back to camp.

"Daryl, hold up, man," Shane said, holding a hand up for Daryl to stop walking. Daryl did and glanced over his shoulder at him in confusion. I set Annie down and stood on the sidelines.

"What?" Daryl asked.

Shane put his hands on his hips and looked down at his feet before meeting Daryl's gaze. "It's about Merle. There was a, uh, problem in Atlanta."

Daryl began pacing. Or rather, _prowling_. He looked Shane square in the eyes. "He dead?" he asked.

"We don't know."

"Well, either he is or he ain't!" Daryl shouted.

"No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it," Rick stepped up and spoke.

"Who're you?" Daryl asked.

"Rick Grimes."

Daryl's eyes shot to the new man and they narrowed angrily. "_Rick Grimes_, you got something you wanna tell me?"

Before I knew what I was doing, I put a hand out to grasp Daryl's arm. He stopped dead and looked back at me with confusion written all over his features. I had the strangest inkling he was _this_ close to ripping Rick's head off.

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him to a piece of metal on a roof. He's still there." Rick was positively unashamed. That, or he didn't realize how horrible that sounded.

I audibly choked. "Seriously?" I gained Daryl's attention but ignored him. "You could at least pretend like it was a hard decision!"

Daryl pushed me away, too furious to respond to me. So he lashed out at Rick. "Hold on, lemme process this." He began pacing again. "You're tellin' me you handcuffed my brother to a roof, and you _left him there_?!"

Rick nodded once. "Yeah."

I rolled my eyes and backed off. The man was absolutely unbelievable. Good thing I did too, because no sooner did my feet lift off the ground did Daryl launch his squirrels and then his fist at Rick's face.

"Guys, stop it!" I yelled ineffectively as the scuffle ensued.

Shane subdued Daryl in a headlock.

"You best let me go!" he shouted angrily, still struggling against the Deputy.

"Nah, don't think so," was the flippant reply.

"Chokehold's illegal!" Daryl grunted.

"I'd like to have a calm discussion on the matter. Think we can handle that?" Rick asked, bending low to look Daryl in the eye. Shane finally released him and he stumbled into a standing position.

"Just tell me where he is, so's I can go get him," Daryl said angrily.

It was Lori who broke the tense silence. "He'll show you. Ain't that right?"

Rick nodded. "I'm going back."

So it was decided that a group consisting of Rick, Daryl, a reluctant Glenn and T-Dog would go back to Atlanta to rescue Merle. I went back to my tent, after making sure Annie was safely with Lori and Carol, to mull things over.

Before I could even sit down to unlace my boots, a certain and increasingly familiar drawl interrupted me, "You're dog is useless, you know."

I jumped and turned around to come face to sweaty face with Daryl. With a hand at my thundering heart, I rolled my eyes and sat down on my cot to take off my boots and said, "Stop _doing_ that!"

Daryl wore the faintest smirk before folding his arms. It occurred to me that he was standing just outside the tent flap as I didn't invite him in. I frowned and waved him on, "You can come in, you know. It's not a black hole."

He looked down at his muddy shoes and stayed where he was.

I shrugged. "Okay, suit yourself. Did you need something, other than to tell me that my dog is useless?"

He began chewing on his thumbnail and averted his gaze from mine. I sat there, watching him in silence, wondering what he wanted. Finally, he looked up and said what was on his mind.

"When we found you and the little girl out on the road, you didn't look happy to see other people," he stated.

I blinked in confusion. "Um, so?"

At that, he did step inside and loomed over me. Feeling particularly small in his presence, I stood up as well to try and alleviate some of the tension.

"Most people, like the ones out there," he thumbed back over his shoulder, "were thrilled to see another live human being." He paused and his blue eyes searched mine. "But not you. Hell, you were scared enough to try and draw on me, Shane and Dale."

I knew where this was going, and I didn't want to talk about it. So I looked down at my socks like they were the most interesting things in the world. I tried to sound nonchalant, but I know I failed miserably, "Doesn't mean nothing."

"I think it does."

That one statement made my insides freeze. So, he wasn't as stupid as Shane or even Dale, who had to be spoon-fed my story about other survivors. I'd hand it to Daryl. He was clever and on the ball.

"See," he began again and took another step closer to me. I recoiled slightly and took a miniscule step back. That seemed enough proof for him and he stopped his advance. He continued, "I had some time to think about it out there, in the woods and I wanna know."

My mouth went dry and I had a hard time speaking. "Know what?" He was so close now, I could smell his masculine scent of sweat and pine. Despite his interrogation, I found myself incredibly attracted to him, even with him covered head to toe in dirt and grime.

His voiced lowered as he said, "What made you more afraid of living folk than the dead ones?"

I dared to look up at him. He was taller than me by some height and I had to turn my head all the way to see his eyes. They were piercing. I instantly looked away and cleared my throat, taking a few steps back.

"It's nothing worth wasting breath about, anyhow. Some other groups out there aren't the nicest. Yours is by far the most accepting I've come across. That's why Annie and I stayed. Really, it's nothing." I could hear myself making up excuses, but I didn't care. I just wanted this conversation to end.

There was a pregnant pause and I silently looked at him again. He was regarding me with an unreadable expression; was it pity? Disgust? I couldn't tell.

"What did they do to you?" he asked, his eyes still trained on mine.

I finally got pushed off the tipping point with his ridiculous line of questioning and I lashed out. "The hell you asking me this for?" I hissed as I stood him up, "What does it even matter? I'm not a danger to you or the group, am I?"

He remained impassive, almost as if he was expecting this sort of response. I clenched my teeth together and fought the stinging tears in the corners of my eyes. My hands balled up into fists and I hastily wiped my hands down my face.

"Never said you were," he said stoically.

I turned around and glared at him, furious at him for making me think about it. "Then why are you asking me all this?"

"Where?" was all he said.

I gaped at him. "What?"

He advanced on me again till our chests were almost touching. I stared at him, with all of the pent up emotion threatening to erupt to the surface.

"Where were they?" he repeated.

Understanding washed over me. I shook my head and sniffed, wiping my nose with a finger. "Nowhere 'round here. More south, towards the Florida border." He pulled back and nodded. He went to the tent flap and glanced back at me.

"Did they hurt you?" he asked just above a whisper.

I had to morbidly smile at the question. In the same tone, I replied, "They tried." I looked up at him and his expression was..._pained_. I furrowed a brow in confusion. Wasn't this Daryl Dixon? The guy who's either pissed off about something or is giving everyone the cold shoulder? Why on earth would he be giving me a look like _that_?

"I'm sorry," he said.

I fought a scoff but failed. I nodded and looked down at my feet again. "Yeah. Me too."

He went to leave, then thought better of it and re-entered my tent. I watched him in bewilderment. I opened my mouth to question him, but he beat me to it.

"How's your leg?" he asked.

"My wha?" I looked down at myself, as if remembering for the first time that my leg was still healing from that car window escape. "Oh," I shrugged and said, "It's better I suppose. Why?"

He was quiet a moment or two and just regarded me with an indifferent stare. Finally he nodded back. "Think you can keep up with the chinaman and Dog?"

It dawned on me. "You...want me to go to Atlanta with you guys?"

"That's what it sounds like, then yeah." He quirked a brow.

I shook my head and asked, "Why?" He wanted me to go with them to a metropolis populated by the dead? I had to know why. He sighed irritably and began pacing. I followed him with my eyes.

"Don't get me wrong," he grumbled, "It's just I dunno what happened to you with that other group or whatever, and I don't expect you to tell me nothin', but if you can defend yourself against that and keep that lil' girl outta harms way for such a long time, then I want you having my back out there."

Whatever thinly veiled insult I was aching to shout at him disappeared in my throat. I was gonna chew him out for bringing it up again, but then he goes and says something like that? That's basically like getting an Academy Award for New Best Friend from Daryl Dixon. I didn't hide my grin.

"If that's the case, then alright. I got your back." I stuck out my hand to shake on it.

He grasped it in his rough one and held it a moment or two longer than necessary. "Then I got yours."

**So, I hope you guys enjoyed chapters 4-5! Here's to Chapter 6, coming soon! **


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